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GE Issues $7 Bln of Bonds

Company’s first sale since 2007 includes three-years, 10-years and 30-years.

Proceeds will be used to repay debt, including all or a portion of $5 billion of 5 percent notes due 2013 and for general corporate purposes, the Fairfield, Connecticut-based company said today in a regulatory filing.

The sale is the largest offering in the U.S. since Anheuser-Busch InBev NV issued $7.5 billion in July for its acquisition of Grupo Modelo SAB de CV, Bloomberg data show.

GE’s parent company last sold debt in November 2007, issuing $4 billion of 5.25 percent bonds maturing in December 2017, Bloomberg data show. Those notes traded at 118.7 cents on the dollar Sept. 28 to yield 1.48 percent with an 87.8 basis- point spread, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

The new bonds are rated Aa3 by Moody’s Investors Service, its fourth-highest level, and two steps higher at AA+ by Standard & Poor’s, the ratings companies said in separate statements today.

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